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(forget I said that)

So, no longer do I have a lodger who refuses to pay any rent, or even to buy her own food. She's only moved a couple of blocks down the road (just round the corner from Sarah's, actually) so I'm sure I'll see her again before long. As I won't be feeding her then, though, she won't care about me much. Cupboard love, eh?

Things are quiet, mostly, but on Saturday Lara and Seth dragged me down to the Farne Islands (just south of Lindisfarne, and where Grace Darling and her father made their famous rescue) to look at seabirds. Fantastic they were, too. It was mostly auks in abundance, but there were also quite a lot of kittiwakes, shags and terns. And, in the water by the boat as we were leaving, three ctenophores that looked rather like (and may even have been) these ones but pinker. The largest (the one Lara spotted first) was a couple of inches long. The other two were smaller.

The birds were amazingly unconcerned. The paths are roped off, obviously, but they nest within three or four feet of the ropes. Apparently the eider ducks nest even closer.

Aside from that, I've been visiting flats with Ed and trying to tidy up. And rewatching the Brasseye special, as it's all topical again. Anyone else reckon there's a paediatrician in Wales getting very nervous?

A year ago the people over the road moved 1 km to a rented hoose while they built a new place. One of their cats refused to go and has basically been hanging around my place ever since. I kept phoning them to come and take him away again as he kept beating up my cat. I don't feed him, but he keeps hanging out. When they finish their house, I hope they'll come and take him away as it will be far enough over the swamp that he shouldn't come back again. hopefully. A case of cat adopts person me thinks.

I chase him away sometimes if he's hassling my cat too much or being cheeky like trying to sneek inside and nick my cats food.

My cat unfortunately is a gentleman and can't stand up for himself against bullies.

While the other cat has had a tough life and has to steal to survive these days. Apparently he was tortured a bit by young children when he was a kitten and that is why he left his proper home when the humans had another baby. So I guess I feel sorry for him and I understand his sometimes hooligan behaviour. But other than verbally threatening to dropkick him over the fence... I basically just try to ignore him in the vain hope that he will 'go home'. He comes looking for affection when I'm outside or sitting on the deck. But I don't touch him, I don't want to encourage him.

However, I suspect that his proper home has moved again and they just haven't bothered to come and collect him now that they have moved into their new home. Why they don't just take him to the SPCA, I don't know! Maybe they just expect me to look after him. But I got the impression that they'd be pissed off if I took him to the SPCA. Mind you, I have no way of taking him there anyway. They are the ones with the cat cage.

shes currently waiting patiently to go home I suspect, and refuses to step foot in the kitchen unless its to answer a call of nature, apparently eating is not a call of nature at the moment. I'll show her where the cat door is tomorrow and leave it open for her, if she turns up at yours let me know and i'll butter her paws or something.

The Farnes are great! I got to dive there between kiddies last July and saw some massive bluey ctenophores, and my buddy had his fins nibbled by a grey seal during the safety stop. The birds are very unconcerned about boats and people, but they do make the surface waters a bit cloudy and pongy! The skipper got the boat within touching distance of a guillemot and razorbill colony.

By July, the baby eiders have paddled across and take up residence around the Seahouses harbour. Did you get dive-bombed by the terns?